Republic P 47 Thunderbolt

Republic P 47 Thunderbolt

In an era when fighter aircraft were as small, sleek, light and manoeuvrable as their designers could ensure, in the midst of Spitfires and Mustangs, there was one World War Two fighter that was huge, snubbed nosed and cumbersome looking. At roughly twice the weight as its contemporaries, it was simply called the jug, because stood on its nose, the plane looked like a milk jug.

The Thunderbolt was a later starter in the war, its design directly influenced by events that were happening in Europe, with the air battles over Poland and France. Despite the late entry, it was built in numbers than any other American fighter, before or since World War Two. It was fast, dependable and could take major damage, survive and packed plenty of heavy fire power. This is the story of the Republic P 47 Thunderbolt.